By George Regmund
When most folks imagine retirement, they usually think of a move to a warmer climate. However, some of us have gone in the opposite direction. Yes, it is a long way from Texas to Massachusetts, both in distance and climate, but there are many of my old Texas wildlife friends here, often doing things differently than they did down south.
By Rebecca Reid and Michael Dover
Two years ago, we moved into our new home: a renovated early-19th-century house on nine acres in Leverett, which we’ve named Old Field Farm. This event marked a new level in our ability to live according to our values around community and sustainability. We bought the property with friends who share those values, beginning with living cooperatively in energy-efficient homes, growing much of our own food, and meeting most of the rest of our needs through barter and supporting local farms and craftspeople. Last fall, another family bought the house across the road and joined our adventure. We now have a little community of nine, ranging in age from 1 to 70, working the land, raising animals, reaping the harvest and caring for our small piece of the earth.
By Ted Watt
We sling on our packs and leave the cars in the parking lot, entering the northern forest on a narrow paint-blazed trail. Paper birch, mountain ash and red spruce make up the forest along with balsam fir scenting the air. No matter how many times I come here it surprises me how different the plants are here than at home, only a 3½-hour car ride away. Bunchberry is in bloom and painted trilliums are, too. Blue-headed vireos gossip from the treetops. Swainson’s thrush calls shimmer from the deeper woods.
By David Spector
During nesting season, I often see a male bird closely following his mate. He may fly where she flies, feed where she feeds, trail after her as she builds her nest, and keep her in view. I see such mate-following in many species: a male mourning dove flying a few inches behind his mate, a male robin staying close to a female hunting worms on a lawn, a male hawk perched next to his larger mate, a male house sparrow keeping airborne pace with a female carrying a bill-full of nesting material. Such classic greeting card images are the kinds of behavior often considered enchantingly sweet.
By Dave King
Forest management is often the subject of controversy, yet often the anger and anxiety of opponents are due to misconceptions or incomplete information. I hope that by describing the effects of forestry on wildlife and biodiversity, I can help allay some of the concerns that arise from such misconceptions. Forest fragmentation might be a good place to start.
By Patty O’Donnell
The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has reminded me yet again that no “Earth Matters” are more pressing than climate change. Earth’s systems are responding to anthropogenic (human-caused) increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide and, the report warns, no area of the world is likely to escape the consequences.
By Ted Watt
I like to go for a run in the mornings before I get ready for work. I often leave the house around 5:30 a.m. and part of the year it’s still dark. The other morning, as I ran past Garfield Street in Greenfield, I stopped short at a quiet sound from the side street — a gentle, quavering whistle, descending in pitch. It was an Eastern screech owl — right in a residential neighborhood! I just stood there listening in the predawn quiet, flooded with memories of other screech owls I have heard and seen.
By Katie Koerten
In an age when sustainable solutions to human problems have never been so important, wouldn’t it be nice to have a mentor to turn to for help and inspiration? Someone, or something, that has almost 4 billion years of experience solving life’s problems in a way that is sustainable for all living things? Someone who has truly seen it all, and is always in the process of figuring out life’s challenges?
By Elizabeth Farnsworth
Last summer, I had a close encounter with bears. A sow and her two yearling cubs ambled across my yard in Florence. (I quietly put down my gardening tools and stood stock-still as they made their way into the trees). Such meet-ups are not uncommon in the Pioneer Valley — we share the landscape with bears and hardly give it a thought unless our bird feeders get raided. Recently, however, I had another encounter with bears of an entirely different variety: water bears.
By David Spector
Next Thursday, March 20, is the day known in the northern hemisphere as the vernal equinox, when day and night are approximately equal in length. According to our calendars, this is the day spring begins. (In the southern hemisphere, it is the first day of autumn. Some have suggested the less ambiguous “Northward equinox” for this date and “Southward equinox” for its September equivalent.
Share this page with friends!
Hitchcock Center for the Environment
at Hampshire College
845 West Street | Amherst MA 01002 | 413.256.6006 | 413.253.2809 fax